Upgrade options-Please recommend

[onzki@2015]

Hi everyone! My first post I guess... I enjoyed browsing and learning from this informative community.

 

My upgrade objective:

I want a nice studio like photos for my kids/family. Things happens so fast, I just want 

 

to capture some moment nicely.  

Benchmark examples:

http://tinyurl.com/nzekg73

http://tinyurl.com/oqrmpbu

http://tinyurl.com/nj6r29f

http://tinyurl.com/ortdxcs

 

 

My current kit 

Camera: Sony Alpha a330 camera 

Lenses:  M42 Helios 44M-7, CZSonnar 135mm, Minolta Maxxum AF 50mm f/1.7, Sony 35mm 

 

(SAL35F18), Sony 85mm (SAL85F28).  

Strobe/Speedlight: METZ 48 AF-1

(I plan get one of Gary Fong's portrait kit soon). 

 

 

I appreciate your suggestions for upgrade options on a limited budget (USD600), which 

 

path should I go or which is the best way to spend $600? 

 

Path 1. Buy used a77 

Path 2. Buy used a6000 + LA-EA4 adapter

Path 3. Sell my old lens to fund and buy a Zeiss lens

Path 4. Buy secondary speedlight, (lower guide #?)

Path 5. Sell everything and shift to Canon or Nikon's used/old full frame & one lens. 

 

I am open to other possible paths you can recommend, thanks a lot for looking!

 

Cheers!

 

[JonathanStewart]

Upgrading your body will give you the most bang for your buck. With your budget you may even be able to find a used a77ii, but certainly a nice used a77 will fit in.  There's not a whole lot of difference between the a65 and original a77 in terms of image quality (same sensor), and you'd spend half the money.  The a77ii is quite better though with the improved focus, so if you can find one within your budget, I'd recommend it.  

 

Beyond that, you're pretty well covered as far as optics go, with one or two decent lenses and a few to fill in the gaps.  The a77 and 135 is a nice combo that I've used before.  

 

One more suggestion, and I know it's hard to think about, but just selling everything.  You'd get decent money for the CZ135, and probably do OK with the rest.  Let's say you get around $2,000 for everything. Put your $600 on top of that and you have enough for a used Sony a7ii (great camera - used about $1200-1300), and a couple of used lenses.  My recommendation would be starting with the 55 f/1.8 (~$600 used) and then depending if you want to go wide or long, either get the kit 28-70 (decent optics, higher quality than A-mount kit glass ~$250) or if you want to go longer get the 70-200 f/4 (very good optics, nice construction ~$1000-1100 used). 

 

In the latter scenario, you're really modernizing your kit, making a gigantic leap as far as image quality and useability, and opening yourself up to what is definitely the future of Sony, the FE mount. Some might disagree, but the longer you hold onto your A-mount gear, the less valuable it becomes since more and more people are coming to realize the mount has no future.  

[Reinhold_1]

I can only agree JonathanSt....: The best option to upgrade is the purchase of a modern camera. Sell the A 330 and look for a used A77 or A77II (the A77II is in my experience completely undervalued). Look at sometimes the new A68. In Germany it costs currently new 600, - € (price falling).
The lenses I would not sell in no case. The 135 Sonnar is outstanding, your other lenses good to very good.
Even with a switch to Sony EF I would continue using the lenses with the LA-EA4 adapter or the LA-EA3 adapter in case of the SAL-lenses.

[Golem]

...........  Let's say you get around $2,000 for everything. .......  

  

But that ain't gonna happen ....  

  

OTOH, the rest of your advice was quite sensible.

I just can't see a real-world $2000 in his used gear.